Clang!
Necessity is the mother of innovation.
Hedin had not realized how true that statement was until now.
Clang!
Whoosh!
Bam!
As his feet dragged through the ground after getting kicked in the abdomen, he realized just how true that statement rang.
Because only now was he forced to think up sword skills to fight a skilled opponent.
Huuuu~
Hedin exhaled.
His opponents, for as long as he could remember, were either beasts or fellow companions who had defected. Neither were very well versed in bladed combat, not to say it was even their preferred way of fighting.
Beasts used strange magical powers and spells, blood rituals and sheer physical might.
They were difficult to kill and extreme violence was the way to go. That was easy enough. Against companions that had lost all reason, it was easier than even fighting beasts. A hunter who had lost his way would have weakened their glory. They would become almost mindless and the small amount of rationality that remained would make them stand around to be killed.
In the rare case they fought, however, they could destroy entire cities. Hedin had never encountered a truly mad betrayer. That did not mean Hedin was unskilled, however.
Just that his other abilities were much more refined in comparison to his weapons handling.
And so, he was at a loss.
He crouched down, legs pressing closer like a spring. And then, he moved.
The air parted before him as his physical might, taken to new extremes due to mana circulation, propelled him forward!
Whooosh!
Fwish!
Clang!
Wood flew, and Hedin again felt a kick impact his ribs.
Bam!
He skid back again, observing the old figure of the man before him.
His grip on the sword tightened as he began to walk to the side. Wilhelm mimicked his walk, walking in the opposite direction. They circled each other like predators, each looking for a weak spot.
Hedin was good at finding weak spots in enemies. Yet, looking at his opponent, he couldn't see any openings.
This is difficult. He mused.
Boom!
The ground splintered beneath him in a spider web.
Hedin ducked under the counter strike, feeling the wooden sword pass over his head and struck with a precise strike to the ribs!
Bam!
Wilhelm tried to kick him again, yet Hedin closed the distance instead of moving back.
His form tilted to the side, throwing a punch with his free hand.
Bam!
Bam!
Whoosh!
Both of their arms blurred, exchanging a flurry of blows in the blink of an eye! Hedin felt something brush against his cheek, drawing a thin streak of blood. His eyes instantly turned into two golden suns; right before realizing he wasn't supposed to be using glory in the spar.
He jumped back, trying to put distance between himself and Wilhelm. Of course, the old man wasn't one to let up on the advantage. Their forms blurred, passing by the field in the matter of moments, wooden blades slicing apart grass and dirt.
Wilhelm stepped forward with his right foot. Hedin mimicked his movement, body tilting to the side to avoid a blow.
Got you! His eyes shone with intent. And that was the opportunity.
His arm blurred into an afterimage, striking right at Wilhelm's torso!
Clang! Bam!
Hedin's eyes widened. What the - He thought as his strike was deflected back.
And then-
Bam!
Thud!
He fell onto the ground with a thud, body paining.
"What was that last strike?" He asked, unconsciously. His crimson eyes sought
Wilhelm's towering figure who extended his hand to him.
Hedin took his hand and got off the ground.
"Trade secret." Wilhelm chuckled. "Perhaps if we had some more spars, you might be able to figure it out."
"I'll hope so." Hedin nodded. Only now did he notice that he was, in fact, taller than Wilhelm.
Weird. He chuckled to himself. He seemed like a mountain when we fought. Now, he seems only like an ordinary butler.
With that, the short spar was over. As they turned to the garden, they noted that it was in shambles.
"Apologies." He smiled wryly.
"No need." Wilhelm shook his head. "This is to be expected in a duel. I will have everything tidied up before Lady Crusch arrives."
"Thank you for the spar." Hedin bowed a bit and they both began to walk back to the mansion. From the far end, he noticed Rem running towards them.
Within just a few moments, she reached him and spoke, "You had a spar with Sir Wilhelm?"
"I shall take my leave." Wilhelm gave Hedin a knowing smile. One that Hedin didn't know if he appreciated.
"That's right." As the old man left, he turned to Rem and nodded.
"You're not hurt are you? Sit down for a bit. Let Rem cast some healing on you." The blue haired oni said, insisting that he take some healing.
"It's quite alright." He held the places where he had been struck, finding that the pain had already disappeared. "The ambient spirits have already healed what little damage was there."
Rem's eyes widened. Then, she snapped her head up at him.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"You idiot." She turned around and began to walk back.
Hedin stood still, confused.
Raven landed atop his head and croaked. "Idiot! Idiot!"
"Shut up." He said. "What was that about, anyways?"
"Don't know! Don't know!"
...
Evening arrived and Hedin found himself in the library. The library here at Crusch's mansion was quite a bit smaller than the one at Roswaal's. Which was to be expected.
There was also a lot less material in the all the sections, predominantly the magic section. The Forbidden library had an entire section filled with magic theory. Here?
Only a single shelf worth of books.
While he was standing before the shelf, reading through a 400 paged book named 'Short history of Vollachia,' a voice suddenly called out to him.
"So that's where nyou are! Hedin!" He looked to the source of the sound, finding Felix standing at the door, arms crossed and a big smile on his face. "I see you're trying your best to stay entertained."
"As you said." He closed the book. "Trying."
Felix chuckled and walked closer.
"Well you don't seem to be succeeding. If the choice of book is anything to go by."
Hedin shrugged his shoulders, placing the book back into the shelf. With a smile, he turned his head to the cat man and asked, "And when are my magic lessons supposed to begin?"
The cat man in question tilted his head to the side and placed a finger on his lip.
"Hmm. Let's see. It's about to be night time and tomorrow, the yang magic professor will arrive. So your lessons with me will begin on the overmorrow!"
Felix turned around and began to walk out.
"For now, Lady Crusch asked me to invite you over for dinner! Let's go!"
With that, both of them headed for the dining hall.
Said place, just in fashion of nobles, was designed with various trinkets and expensive carpets. The dining table was about 8 meters in length, well enough to fit 20 individuals when seated on both sides. At the head of the table, occupying the seat of honor was none other than Crusch, dressed in her military styled attire with her green hair in a non-stylized single braid.
The moment Hedin walked into the room, her eyes instantly locked onto his figure, scanning him from head to toe.
Somehow, Hedin felt the air in the room shift. He did not know why.
He noticed Rem and Wilhelm standing behind her, Rem slightly away, as opposed to Wilhelm who stood closer.
Walking to the table, Hedin held a hand to his chest and bowed a bit.
"My sincerest gratitude, Lady Crusch for hosting me for the time." He said.
Crusch nodded and gestured to the table.
"Take a seat. We have much to discuss, I believe."
"Indeed."
Hedin and Felix both took the seat right beside Crusch.
And so, the dinner table was set with various dishes. The moon rose from under the horizon and the curtains were opened, allowing the fresh moonlight into the room.
...
As Hedin sat on his chair, the surrounding light seemed to seek out his figure. The light from the moon filtered through the windows, falling onto his figure. The colours seemed to get more saturated and the shadows darker and cryptic whispers seemed to fill the air around them.
Such things didn't escape the notice of Crusch and Felix, of course.
"You seem to be a man of many talents, Sir Hedin."
"Just Hedin is fine." Hedin replied, taking a sip from the red wine. "And I will take your kind words to heart, Lady Crusch."
She nodded, cutting a small piece of her steak and taking a bite.
"Nya~ Hedin, are you perhaps in possession of some divine protection?" Felix asked with a wiggle of his brows.
"Ferris!" Crusch immediately snapped, tone laced with steel. She looked to Hedin and closed her eyes. "I apologize for my knight's rude questions, Hedin."
"It's alright." He said nothing more. The more his mystery was, the higher would be his social standing. Hedin knew that. No one in the world except for the Emilia camp knew of his origins from beyond the waterfall. He intended to keep it that way, until a strategic moment revealed itself.
The talks went into the night. Rem stood behind him, poised and proper and quiet. Crusch started from general questions, then went to questions about himself and then to his camp.
He answered most cryptically. Others, he avoided answering altogether. The rest, questions with small political value or answers easily discovered, he answered without a hint of deception.
"So," Crusch said. "Let me get straight to the point then."
Hedin's gaze sharpened. Again, he felt the wind change within the room.
Curious... he mused silently.
Crusch got off the table and walked over to the window. Then, opening them up and stepping into the balcony, she turned back and smiled.
"Care to join me in the open?"
Hedin nodded and followed.
Outside, he noticed, a circular table was already there. Wilhelm served them tea and then left them alone.
All that were left were then, Hedin, Felix, Rem and Crusch.
Rem was the only one who stood behind Hedin. The rest sat at the table.
"I don't do well with going about things in the roundabout way." Crusch admitted. "So I'll just ask you directly. Who are you? Where do you come from?"
Hedin smiled.
All previous questions were a bit reserved, and most were asked by Felix. It had been obvious at a glance that Crusch wasn't one to play such games. She was the type to charge headfirst into such matters, grabbing the subject by the throat.
"And where do such questions come from, Lady Crusch?"
"I wish to know where your allegiance lies." She continued. "A man like you, with unique powers and strength; enough to rival the bowel hunter from what I hear; arriving in Lugunica and by coincidence, joining the Emilia camp a month later is by no means a small matter."
Hedin's mind churned.
She knows about the bowel hunter incident? She doesn't know that Emilia's insignia was stolen does she? He thought it over for a moment, then thought against it. If that were the case, it would've been brought up in the royal conference by the other nobles.
"And to think you joined the weakest of the camps too. If your goal from the start was to join into the royal selection, I'd doubt your intelligence. But clearly, you are no idiot."
I'm not very smart either way. Hedin held off on the self deprecating comments for now and focused on the conversation.
"And from my information network, I cannot track any of your steps. Nor where you came from, neither how you entered Lugunica to encounter the bowel hunter. No matter how you look at it, it's suspicious. Are you from Kararagi? Vollachia? Gusteko? Or perhaps from a small settlement at the edge of the large nations? Regardless, I cannot track you.
"So that leaves only one option for me. To ask you directly."
Hedin met her eyes for a moment before he spoke, "And why would I reveal such information?"
Crusch didn't answer immediately. Instead, she took the tea cup and took a sip.
"It is quite simple." She smiled. "You must have been offered splendid benefits for joining the Emilia camp. There stands no other reason for you to join them. Lord Mathers is a resourceful individual after all. But whatever benefits they offer, I can offer a better deal."
Suddenly, everything came together in Hedin's mind. His guess had been confirmed.
He had been reading Crusch's emotions since entering and he hadn't been able to discover the reason behind her incessant questioning.
Now, his doubts about being invited to the mansion had also been confirmed.
Silently, he thought over his circumstance and found that Crusch's assessment was quite right in a way.
He was offered generous benefits for joining the Emilia camp. That of access to the forbidden library and help in getting back to his own world. So a question arose in his mind.
What benefits could Crusch offer that would outweigh those offered by Roswaal and Emilia?
Immediately, an answer came to his mind.
None.
He smiled softly and sipped his tea. Then, he turned his gaze to the moon.
The silver moonlight fell atop his figure, making him have an air of mystique.
"Sadly, Lady Crusch, I must decline your offer." He said, standing from his seat.
Crusch smiled at him and then shrugged her shoulders.
"It was worth a try."
Hedin bowed a bit.
"Then I will take my leave."
...
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Throw some stones.
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A/N: Enjoying yourself so far?
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